^CategoryReligion

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 14, 2022

Categorized
Religion, Science

Tagged
COVID-19 (and acceptance of nonsense), Einstein effect, Guru effect, New Age Bullshit Generator, Nonsense (computer-generated), Research (on science nonsense)}

We Trust Nonsense From Lab Coats More Than From Gurus

_{This shocking study is relevant to how we decide what to believe from science sources about COVID-19} _{Denyse O'Leary

February 14, 2022

6

Religion, Science}

An international team of researchers staged a revealing experiment on who we believe when they are talking nonsense. The test of 10,195 participants from 24 countries asked questions about the credibility of the statements and about their personal degree of religiosity. How could the researchers be sure that the statements were nonsense? They were produced by the New Age Bullshit Generator, an algorithm that generates impressive sounding elements of sentences that make rough grammatical sense even if they make no other sense. Two statements were selected: The 10,195 participants in the experiment were presented with two meaningless but profound-sounding statements: “We are called to explore the cosmos itself as an interface between faith and empathy. We must learn how to Read More ›

Laser Cannon Incapacitates Enemy Satellite In Space

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
February 12, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Religion

Tagged
Alliance (in Firefly), Firefly Episode 3, Malcolm Reynolds (character in Firefly), Reavers (in Firefly), River Tam (character in Firefly), Science fiction, Shepherd (character in Firefly), Simon Tam (character in Firefly)}

Firefly Episode 3: Should Some People Be Left To Die?

_{After the space crew rescues the survivor of a pirate attack, Captain Mal faces off against The Shepherd on whether God can save even that man.} _{Gary Varner

February 12, 2022

10

Arts & Culture, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Religion}

Episode 3 begins with a friendly game of basketball… or something like it. Simon, a doctor who has joined the Firefly crew, notes that there appear to be no rules to the game as he watches from the balcony. The game is interrupted by a “proximity alert” and the crew discovers a wrecked ship floating in space. The captain decides to check it out and they quickly discover that the ship has been attacked by the infamous Reavers. We’d seen their ship once in episode one, and we’d heard some ominous descriptions of what they do to their prisoners: “If they take the ship, they’ll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing. And, Read More ›

Científicos examinando un extraterrestre

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 30, 2022

Categorized
Religion

Tagged
Alice Meynell, Andrew Davison, C. S. Lewis (on extraterrestrials), Hugh Ross (on Mars life), José Gabriel Funes (on extraterrestrials), NASA (funding religious scholars), Religion (and extraterrestrials)}

Will Religions Crumble If We Find Extraterrestrial Life?

_{NASA funded a group of theologians to try to assess the probable reaction of religious people to extraterrestrial life or intelligent aliens} _{News

January 30, 2022

6

Religion}

In 2016–2017, NASA partially funded 24 religious scholars to brainstorm how adherent of various faiths would react to the discovery of extraterrestrial life. As Erin Snodgrass put it at Insider, A rabbi, a priest, and an imam walk into a research program funded by NASA to talk about the intersection of God and aliens. It’s not the start of a religious joke. It’s precisely what happened at the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey in 2016 when two dozen theologians gathered to participate in a program partially funded by NASA to research how humans might respond to the discovery of extraterrestrial life. Erin Snodgrass, “How would humans respond to the discovery of aliens? NASA enlisted dozens of religious Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 15, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Religion, Robotics}

Sci-Fi Saturday Special: The Journey of the Nauts

_{The astronaut discovers a planet run by robots that think humans are lying if we say there is no Creator because, after all, we created them} _{News

January 15, 2022

3

Arts & Culture, Religion, Robotics}

(A short story by Jonathan Witt) Let’s see. How to start? As I surfaced from cryo, I was reminded of the old Christmas poem. “A cold coming we had of it,” one of the Magi begins, and I was thinking, the fellow doesn’t know the meaning of cold. Try halfway to absolute zero across seventeen light years of interstellar space. Granted, the cryo made the journey feel like an overnighter, but don’t imagine some trillionaire spa sleepover. Imagine yourself liquored up on bad moonshine, stuffed in a sack full of dry ice, knocked unconscious, tumbled about for an hour, quick-thawed, flushed of blue antifreeze, pumped full of dehydrated/rehydrated blood, and then shocked awake. That’s the cold coming we had of Read More ›

Blue glowing 4 dimensional object in space abstract fractal background

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
December 19, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion

Tagged
Featured, Flatland (short novel), Miracles (dimensions as an account)}

Can Higher Dimensions Help Us Understand Biblical Miracles?

_{We assume there are only three spatial dimensions because those are the ones we sense. What if there are four?} _{Robert J. Marks

December 19, 2021

8

Philosophy, Religion}

String theory in physics postulates the existence of ten, eleven, or even twenty-six seven spatial dimensions. (Some call time a dimension, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.) What’s going on? You and I experience only three spatial dimensions. Physicists say these other dimensions are compactified in strings – like a two dimensional plane rolled up into what looks like a one dimensional appearing skinny straw. What if higher dimensions weren’t compactified? What if, say, there were a fourth spatial dimension? Access to a fourth dimension explains some of the miracles described in the Bible. A classic book about higher dimensions is Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott, first published in 1886. In the novel, life was constrained to Read More ›

The red human figure extends its influence to the neighboring figures. Spreading ideas and thoughts, recruiting new members. Infection of other people, zero patient. Leader and leadership, new team.

^{Type
post

Author
William A. Dembski
Date
December 19, 2021

Categorized
Education, Religion

Tagged
Apologetics, Featured, Influence (as critical for persuasion), Rhetoric}

Why Influence Matters More Than People Realize

_{How do we go from defending ourselves to persuading others?} _{William A. Dembski

December 19, 2021

16

Education, Religion}

7 From Apologetics to Rhetoric During my years as a seminary professor, every course I taught had some connection with apologetics. One of the courses I taught that I liked best was rhetoric. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. Unfortunately, it is an art that Christian apologetics has failed to fully appropriate. Aristotle rightly distinguished three appeals of persuasion. These were logos, ethos, and pathos. You can try to persuade by logical argument. That’s logos, and Christian apologetics is hypertrophied in that department. But you can also try to persuade by the force of your personality, or by your reputation for moral probity, or by your demonstrated expertise and qualifications. That’s ethos, and it speaks to your standing and credibility in the act of persuasion. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
William A. Dembski
Date
December 12, 2021

Categorized
Religion

Tagged
Culture, Ghetto culture, truth, Worldview}

How Does Worldview Differ From Cultural Environment?

_{Confusion about the difference between worldview and cultural environment has been a stumbling block for Christian apologetics} _{William A. Dembski

December 12, 2021

7

Religion}

5 Worldview vs. Cultural Environment By now it will be apparent that a cultural environment differs from a worldview. Let’s say a bit more about that difference, because it is important. A cultural environment applies corporately to the group or community in which one resides. On the other hand, a worldview is, in the first instance, held individually, though it can be shared and therefore held corporately. Thus we may speak of “the Christian worldview.” One’s worldview is the set of beliefs that one holds about what the world is like. As such, it doesn’t distinguish between beliefs that are held intensely and those that are held more lightly. It doesn’t distinguish between beliefs that are non-negotiable and those to Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
December 5, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
Arrogance of the Present (concept), Boethius (on God's attributes), C. S. Lewis (on chronological snobbery), Chronological snobbery, Existence vs essence (Aquinas), Featured, God (as Person), Jonathan Margolis, Mark Solms, Michael Egnor, Physics (lack of fresh ideas), Theology Unleashed, Thomas Aquinas (on God's attributes)}

Egnor and Solms: What Does It Mean To Say God Is a Person?

_{Mark Solms and Michael Egnor discuss and largely agree on what we can rationally know about God, using the tools of reason} _{News

December 5, 2021

11

Philosophy, Religion, Science}

Last time out, as South African neuropsychologist Mark Solms and Stonybrook neurosurgeon Michael Egnor continued to discuss the mind vs. the brain at Theology Unleashed (October 22, 2021). Solms said that he believed in Spinoza’s God — so did Albert Einstein, actually. Now he asks Egnor about the idea that God is a Person. Summary to date: In the first portion, Solms, author of The Hidden Spring (2021), began by asserting in his opening statement that “the source of consciousness in the brain is in fact in the brain stem,” not the cerebral cortex, as is almost universally assumed. Dr. Egnor then responded that his clinical experience supports the view that brain is not mind. Then Solms pointed to the Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
William A. Dembski
Date
December 5, 2021

Categorized
Education, Philosophy, Religion

Tagged
Apologetics (Christian), Culture (and truth concepts), Featured, Incoherence (in worldview), Jesus (Resurrection), Resurrection of Jesus( cultural views), Truth (and culture), Worldview (and inconsistencies), Worldview audit (concept)}

Is Truth Just What Your Peers Will Let You Get Away With Saying?

_{Sound, logical thinking is NOT the norm. Many people, anxious to remain in good standing with leaders and influencers, live quite happily with incoherence and inconsistencies} _{William A. Dembski

December 5, 2021

11

Education, Philosophy, Religion}

Mathematician and philosopher William Dembski offered an analysis of Christian apologetics (defense of Christian beliefs), “Making Apologetics an Effective Instrument for Cultural Engagement” at the Evangelical Philosophical Society meeting “Reasonable Faith in an Uncertain World” (November 19, 2021). His discussion raises broad issues around how a culture assesses and understands truth. Republished with permission here in four parts. Below is the second portion, “3 Giving Culture Its Due” and “4 The Worldview Audit and Its Limitations” (The first portion is “1 The Unfulfilled Promise of Christian Apologetics” and “2 Truth Is Never Enough”) 3 Giving Culture Its Due We inhabit not merely a physical environment but also a cultural environment. Our cultural environment sets boundaries for what we may think, Read More ›

Abstract Unique Young Woman Standing In the Middle Of A Galaxy Crack

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
December 5, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
Featured, Mark Solms, Michael Egnor, Theology Unleashed}

Einstein Believed in Spinoza’s God. Who Is That God?

_{Neuropsychologist Mark Solms admits that life is “miraculous” and sees Spinoza’s God, embedded in nature, as the ultimate explanation} _{News

December 5, 2021

11

Philosophy, Religion, Science}

In the most recent portion of the discussion between South African neuropsychologist Mark Solms and Stony Brook neurosurgeon Michael Egnor at Theology Unleashed (October 22, 2021), talk turned to defining consciousness. Which led in turn to the remarkable (in Solms’s view, “miraculous”) difference between life and non-life — which is not merely a matter of religious opinion. If an accounting is required, it turns out that even Einstein believed in some sort of God and Solms follows his thinking, as we see below. Egnor offers a different view. Summary to date: In the first portion, Solms, author of The Hidden Spring (2021), began by asserting in his opening statement that “the source of consciousness in the brain is in fact Read More ›

Businessman hand change wooden cube block with TRUST and TRUTH business word on table background. Trustworthy, Truth, beliefs and agreement concept

^{Type
post

Author
William A. Dembski
Date
November 28, 2021

Categorized
Education, Philosophy, Religion

Tagged
Apologetics, Truth (culture and truth)}

What Makes Arguments for God Convincing — or Not

_{Is truth enough? A look at the unfulfilled promise of Christian apologetics} _{William A. Dembski

November 28, 2021

7

Education, Philosophy, Religion}

Mathematician and philosopher William Dembski offered an analysis of Christian apologetics (defense of Christian beliefs), “Making Apologetics an Effective Instrument for Cultural Engagement” at the Evangelical Philosophical Society meeting “Reasonable Faith in an Uncertain World” (November 19, 2021). His discussion raises broad issues around how a culture assesses and understands truth. Republished with permission in four parts. The first part is “1 The Unfulfilled Promise of Christian Apologetics” and “2 Truth Is Never Enough.” 1 The Unfulfilled Promise of Christian Apologetics I’ve been writing professionally in the field of Christian apologetics now for over 30 years. In fact, looking at my CV, I see that one of my very first publications in apologetics (an article titled “Inconvenient Facts: Miracles and Read More ›

Supermassive extraterrestrial life form in outer space, dark red planet in twisted galaxy

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
November 21, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Science

Tagged
Avi Loeb (on Galileo Project), Avril Haines, Bill Nelson, Extraterrestrials (growing acceptance in science), Galileo Project, Ignatius Forum (on extraterrestrial life), Randy Hollerith}

Astronomer: Hunt for ET Can Unify Science and Religion

_{Avi Loeb told The Hill that the Galileo Project, which looks for physical evidence of extraterrestrials, could answer religious questions as well as science ones} _{News

November 21, 2021

6

Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Science}

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, spoke at a recent Ignatius Forum on his differences with “the scientific mainstream” about the evidence for extraterrestrial life. Perhaps in part because the venue was the Washington National Cathedral, Loeb felt motivated to reflect on the religious as well as the science implications of a search for extraterrestrial life. As a member of Harvard University’s Galileo Project which seeks to “bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures of Extraterrestrial Technological Civilizations (ETCs) from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends into the mainstream of transparent, validated and systematic scientific research,” he shared his thoughts with The Hill, which covers the U.S. Congress: In finding advanced extraterrestrial intelligence, religion might simply reflect advanced science with a twist. Read More ›

Man in front of the universe with his arms raised

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 30, 2021

Categorized
Environment, Religion, Science, Spirituality

Tagged
Brian Cox, Carl Sagan (and Copernican Principle), Climate change (Brian Cox), Copernican Principle, Galaxy (human importance), Privileged Planet hypothesis (and Brian Cox), Universe (BBC series)}

Physicist: If Humans Died Out, the Galaxy Might Lose All Meaning

_{Ahead of a big climate change conference, Brian Cox assesses the prospect of other habitable planets or their civilizations much more soberly than we often hear} _{News

October 30, 2021

4

Environment, Religion, Science, Spirituality}

Ahead of the big climate change conference COP 26 (31 Oct – 12 Nov 2021), physicist and broadcaster Brian Cox offers an ominous warning which also raises some questions. Speaking in connection with his new series, Universe, he presents a starkly different picture from much that we hear: Humans might be the only intelligent beings in our galaxy, so destroying our civilisation could be a galactic disaster, Prof Brian Cox has warned leaders in the run-up to Cop26. Speaking at the launch of his new BBC Two series Universe, the physicist and presenter said that having spoken to the scientists around the world advising the show, he thought that humans and sentient life on Earth “might be a remarkable, naturally Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 27, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality

Tagged
Arjuna Das, Cause and effect (time debate), Featured, Matt Dillahunty, Michael Egnor, Theology Unleashed}

15. Debate: How Can a Cause and Effect Occur at the Same Time?

_{In the broken window analogy, the brick becomes a cause simultaneously with the shattered glass becoming an effect} _{News

October 27, 2021

15

Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality}

In the “Does God exist?” debate at Theology Unleashed between theist neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and atheist broadcaster Matt Dillahunty (September 17, 2021), a questioner asks, are singularities really a part of science? Readers may recall that the debate opened with Egnor explaining why, as former atheist, he became a theist. Then Dillahunty explained why, as a former theist, he became an atheist. Michael Egnor then made his opening argument, offering ten proofs for the existence of God. Matt Dillahunty responded in his own opening argument that the propositions were all unfalsifiable. When, in Section 4, it was Egnor’s turn to rebut Dillahunty, Dillahunty was not easily able to recall Aquinas’s First Way (the first logical argument for the existence of Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 24, 2021

Categorized
Mathematics, Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
Arjuna Das, Atheism (and ethics), Atheism (and predictions), Featured, Matt Dillahunty, Michael Egnor, Singularities (in science), Theology Unleashed}

13. Egnor vs. Dillahunty: Are Singularities a Part of Science?

_{Also, an audience member asks the debaters: Does atheism make better predictions than theism?} _{News

October 24, 2021

10

Mathematics, Philosophy, Religion, Science}

In the “Does God exist?” debate at Theology Unleashed between theist neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and atheist broadcaster Matt Dillahunty (September 17, 2021), we now look at questions from the audience on whether singularities are really a part of science and whether atheism is really a belief system that can make predictions. Readers may recall that the debate opened with Egnor explaining why, as former atheist, he became a theist. Then Dillahunty explained why, as a former theist, he became an atheist. Michael Egnor then made his opening argument, offering ten proofs for the existence of God. Matt Dillahunty responded in his own opening argument that the propositions were all unfalsifiable. When, in Section 4, it was Egnor’s turn to rebut Read More ›

A Young Man Reading The Bible To Another Young Man In Jail

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 19, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy, Religion

Tagged
Arjuna Das, Featured, Justice (vs mercy), Matt Dillahunty, Matt Dillahunty (on morality), Mercy (vs justice), Michael Egnor, Morality (Dillahunty's view), Theology Unleashed}

12. Egnor vs. Dillahunty: How Can God Be Both Just and Merciful?

_{After atheist broadcaster Matt Dillahunty explains his view of morality, an audience member asks neurosurgeon Michael Egnor to explain how a just God can show mercy} _{News

October 19, 2021

13

Ethics, Philosophy, Religion}

In the “Does God exist?” debate at Theology Unleashed between theist neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and atheist broadcaster Matt Dillahunty (September 17, 2021), we are looking at the nature of good, as well as the problem of evil. Now, as the questions continue, Matt Dillahunty defends his view of the foundations of morality and Michael Egnor explains how justice and mercy can be combined. Readers may recall that the debate opened with Egnor explaining why, as former atheist, he became a theist. Then Dillahunty explained why, as a former theist, he became an atheist. Michael Egnor then made his opening argument, offering ten proofs for the existence of God. Matt Dillahunty responded in his own opening argument that the propositions were Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 15, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy, Religion

Tagged
Atheism, Atheism (and ethics), Atheism (tenets disputed), Dalai Lama, Featured, Matt Dillahunty, Matt Dillahunty (atheism questioned), Michael Egnor, Michael Egnor (questioning Dillahunty's atheism), Theology Unleashed}

9. Michael Egnor Explains Why Matt Dillahunty Is Not an Atheist

_{Not really, anyway, Egnor insists, because he keeps invoking a moral standard that can’t exist if materialist atheism is true} _{News

October 15, 2021

13

Ethics, Philosophy, Religion}

In the “Does God exist?” debate between theist neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and atheist broadcaster Matt Dillahunty (September 17, 2021), we find Egnor questioning Dillahunty’s atheism. Readers may recall that the debate opened with Egnor explaining why, as former atheist, he became a theist. Then Dillahunty explained why, as a former theist, he became an atheist. Michael Egnor then made his opening argument, offering ten proofs for the existence of God. Matt Dillahunty responded in his own opening argument that the propositions were all unfalsifiable. When, in Section 4, it was Egnor’s turn to rebut Dillahunty, Dillahunty was not easily able to recall Aquinas’s First Way (the first logical argument for the existence of God). Then, turning to the origin of Read More ›

Starfield in deep space many light years far from the Earth. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 10, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
Albert Einstein (and deism), Antony Flew, Baruch Spinoza (and deism), Deism (vs. theism), Featured, Fine tuning (universe), Ola Hössjer, Presumption of Atheism (book), Robert J. Marks, Theism (vs. deism), There is a God (book)}

If Extraterrestrials Didn’t Fine Tune Earth, Maybe There Is a God

_{In the face of a grab bag of ideas like creation by ETs or countless universes (some run by cats), why does the idea of a Creator seem far out?} _{News

October 10, 2021

14

Philosophy, Religion, Science}

Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks has been doing a series of podcasts with Swedish mathematician Ola Hössjer, and Colombian biostatistician Daniel Díaz in connection with a recent co-authored paper on the fine-tuning of the universe for life in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. In the first portion of this episode, podcast 153, “Why is there fine-tuning everywhere?” they look at whether life was seeded in our universe by advanced life forms (directed panspermia), as advocated by some prominent scientists. In the second portion, they discuss the view — again, held by prominent science figures — that our universe is an advanced computer sim. In the third segment, they tackle the idea that there is nothing to Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
September 26, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion

Tagged
Edward Feser (books), Egnor Dillahunty debate (Egnor's reflections), Featured, God (arguments for existence), Matt Dillahunty (knowledge limits), New Atheism, Thomas Aquinas (proofs of God)}

Atheist Spokesman Matt Dillahunty Refuses To Debate Me Again

_{Although he has said that he finds debates “incredibly valuable,” he is — despite much urging — making an exception in this case. Why?} _{Michael Egnor

September 26, 2021

9

Philosophy, Religion}

I recently debated atheist Matt Dillahunty on Theology Unleashed,. Matt is an atheist activist and the former president of the Atheist Community of Austin, Texas. Since 2005 he has hosted the televised webcast The Atheist Experience and he has also hosted a live Internet radio show and founded Iron Chariots, a counter-apologetics project. From a bio sketch: Matt Dillahunty is a seasoned debater, the current president of the Atheist Community of Austin, and the well known host of The Atheist Experience. He has debated Jordan Peterson, David Wood and a host of other theists, and has shared stages with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Laurence Krauss. He is known for his cool headed logical arguments and philosophical abilities. Matt describes Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 22, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
Arjuna Das, Atheism (Dillahunty), Digital Gnosis, Featured, Matt Dillahunty, Michael Egnor, Religion (Egnor), Theology Unleashed}

Debate: Former Atheist Neurosurgeon vs. Former Christian Activist

_{At Theology Unleashed, each gets a chance to state his case and interrogate the other} _{News

September 22, 2021

12

Philosophy, Religion, Science}

“Does God exist?” On September 17, in a rip-roaring old-fashioned debate, Christian neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and atheist broadcaster Matt Dillahunty debated the question at Theology Unleashed. We’ll cover this debate for you, including transcripts and notes. First, each participant was given a chance upfront to state where he is coming from and why. Michael Egnor, representing the Yes side, went first. How did a medic, formerly an atheist, who cuts open people’s brains for a living, come to be sure there is a God? And how did a fundamentalist Christian come to be hosting The Atheist Experience? The debate hosts are Arjuna Das for Theology Unleashed and Nathan from Digital Gnosis as the moderator. A partial transcript and notes follow. Read More ›